


The Haunting of Westchester Mansion

by Christina_Potter_09



Category: The Haunting of Hill House (TV 2018), X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men (Original Timeline Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Blood and Gore, Charles-Olivia, Children death, Death, Drama, Erik-Hugh, F/F, F/M, Family, Fear, Fear of Death, Ghosts, Hank-Mr.Dudley, Haunted Houses, Haunting, Horror, Inspired by The Haunting of Hill House, Jean-Shirley, Kurt-Luke, Love, M/M, Not A Fix-It, Not a Crossover, Ororo-Nell, Paranoia, Paranormal, Psychological Trauma, Raven-Mrs Dudley, Rogue-Theo, Scary, Schizophrenia, Scott-Steve, Suicide, children injuries, morgue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-08-17 14:50:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16518557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Christina_Potter_09/pseuds/Christina_Potter_09
Summary: Flashing between past and present, a fractured family and team confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.The remaining X-Men try to pick up their pieces, five years after the Westchester Incident.





	1. The Lady with the Bent Neck

**Author's Note:**

> That's what happens when you try to find inspiration for your X-Men story and you start watching HoHH videos on youtube. You need to watch the Haunting of Hill House to understand the references, otherwise it's a scary follow up of the Westchester Incident.  
> The ships of Emma/Scott and Warren/Jean are temporary thus not tagged properly, thanks for your patience with something that might not be your cup of tea.
> 
> I hope you all like it, hopefully it will be small and not too scary.  
> It's not a crossover and it's not a fix it story on both ends.

_**The Haunting of Westchester Mansion** _

 

_The lady with the Bent Neck_

  
_‘This is Jean Grey’s voice mail, please leave a message.’_

‘Jean….’ Storm chocked through the tears. ‘I called Scott but he couldn’t talk,’ She tried through the tears, she swallowed hard. ‘I know you’re probably busy but Marie is not picking it up either… I, I’m afraid about Kurt,’ Ororo tried as she remained shivering inside her car. ‘You know how he is,’ she tried, her voice begging. ‘Please call me when you hear this.’ She added broken.

Ororo remained inside the cold car, her eyes burning from the fever as she looked at her call history, nobody had picked it up. She opened her wallet, trying to find some cash, a lone photograph fell from the inside on the car’s pedals. She picked it up and sniffed as she looked at the man in the photograph. Warm dark eyes, beautiful face, seemingly unstoppable, Logan, her husband, only now he was gone, lost and away, probably dead. As she raised her eyes from the worn photograph she gasped as she saw the lone figure before her, dressed in a gown, white skin, white hair, hollow eyes, bent neck with the bone pocking against the skin, outside the car.

Ororo screamed and wailed, shutting her eyes closed as the sobs ripped out of her mouth, leaving her with no breath and a piercing pain in her chest as she fought for her sanity. Not true, she’s not true, she’s just a side-effect from Charles’ seizure.

1…2…3…4…5…6…7…

 When she opened her eyes again, the figure was gone as the rain kept on raging around her, caused by herself. She took a shaky breath and turned on the engine of the car.

 

-

 

_‘This is Jean Grey’s voice mail, please leave a message,’_

‘Hey, Jean,’ Marie said to nobody, feeling stupid for talking more to her adoptive-sister’s voice mail rather than her adoptive-sister herself. ‘I guess ya’re busy but pick up the bloody phone.’ Marie snapped and took a deep breath. ‘ ‘Ro has called me like a thousand times but I was at work, can you check with her? I’ll stay at a…. friend’s house tonight. Scott is not answering either. I think she wants something about Kurt, or Logan… I dunno, we had a fight, I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, can you find her? Thanks.’ Marie shut the on-going call to the voice mail and sighed as she wiped away the sweat from her brow with her gloved hand.

Nowadays she couldn’t take them off even in her sleep. Every touch made her jump but she knew it wasn’t her powers, it was these bloody years in the mental house of Westchester and the upcoming anniversary of the Westchester Incident didn’t help matters. She returned to her date’s bedroom, convinced to stay awake as she hated seeing the smiley face again and the short figure at the corner watching her.

 

-

_‘This is Scott Summers, leave a message.’_

_‘Scott, it’s Jean... ‘Ro called me but I was busy, they fought with Marie, please find ‘Ro? You’re closer to her. I’ll take care of M when she shows up. They both sounded distraught on the phone. Please find ‘Ro, she’s worried about Kurt. And Scott, don’t forget, Rachel and Nathan will be waiting for you on Saturday morning, after breakfast… don’t be late, please, and… don’t come with Emma, please... you know how Rach gets around her... Thanks….’_

 

-

 

 

‘Yes?’ Erik picked up the phone and frowned as he tried to listen to the frail voice.

 _‘Erik?_ ’ Ororo’s voice from the other end made him stand up from his bed, it was the dead of the night in the east cost.

‘Yes, ‘Ro, it’s me, tell me,’ Erik tried to remain calm, it was so rare an occurrence for any of the five to call him. ‘Where are you, dear?’ he asked as he could hear a lot of noise from the line.

 _‘I – I’m fine,’_ Ororo tried but Erik knew something was very wrong, he could hear the engine of a car rushing into a road, he could also hear the noise of the rain.

‘Have you taken your medicine, Ororo?’ Erik asked a silence greeted him for a moment.

‘ _Yes, of course,’_ she replied as she suppressed a sob.

‘Where are you going, dear?’ Erik tried, Ororo was sensitive and vulnerable to loud voices.

‘ _Uhm, home, back home._ ’  Ororo said truthfully and Erik shut his eyes in defeat.

‘No, listen, Ororo, I need you to pull over and stay wherever you are. I will find Jean, she will come and pick you up, or Scott, he’s closer to you, just pull over and tell me where you are. Ok?’ Erik tried but although he could hear her stopping the car, he would swear she was reaching her destination already.

‘ _OK, I love you all very much, I’ll wait._ ’ Ororo’s voice was oddly clear for a moment as she lied to him, unable to pretend. ‘ _I couldn’t find the rest, please tell them I love them,’_ the line was cut and Erik was left with the phone on his ear, a tear falling down his cheek.

 

-

 

Jean looked at the photograph of the woman before her, a beautiful lady in her late forties, rosy cheeks, smooth skin. Patricia Blake. Jean looked at the corpse, cleaned and embalmed, it had taken her all day. The final stage of putting on the make up and then she could finally have dinner. She had to hide these bruises and the stiches, the deathly white lips, the massive opening from the impact on the stairs of her house had been covered by her raven hair, thank God she was had black hair. Jean had done a good job, this woman’s children had suffered in the hands of their father as domestic violence was the cause of their mother’s death but at least their final image of hers would be beautiful, fixed, in total contrast with what they were used on while she was alive.

Jean couldn’t help but remember her own mother’s funeral, the casket was closed, her mother had been too destroyed for a final farewell, the car accident had been horrific, all due to Jean’s powers. She remembered reading the mortician’s mind by accident, how her mother had been mutilated from the waist down, her right side also destroyed. Jean’s first kill, her own mother. The years following, at the institute had given her joy, a husband and two children but the Incident had bared her of all that, stigmatized her and the kids in a worst way than the Phoenix Force, she had ran away.

She had became a mortician herself as her powers had never been the same after the Incident, out of control again and unable to focus, she preferred to live with her children and their familiar thoughts and dead people, they didn’t speak nor think nor project anything, their silence had turned into her peace.

She had tried to stay with her husband at first but the nightmares both during day and night made her dangerous. She loved him too dearly to kill him too like she had done by accident with her mother. Their minds had been linked closely since their marriage, he was in the danger zone and he had been lost himself after the chaos their lives descended into. She almost killed him twice, making him close up into his mind even more, pretending nothing had happened and slipping away more and more. Their minds were not clear, eyes always watched them, whispers crept inside their heads. The dead and the handicapped returned at night, along all their fallen friends and enemies through the years.

 The Seizure started five years ago, it only never ended, leaving them trembling in fear and desperation under the moonlight but even in the sunlight. Jean and Scott were alike, _too alike_ , they turned the terror inward, became unyielding and unkind, cold and stiff, teachers without a school, heroes without an enemy to fight as their own mentor destroyed them. They fought and they screamed, they turned at the only familiar person that was left standing, each other. Apart, their nightmares at least didn’t leave them speechless and shaking, only sobbing and gasping. Their bond only magnified their grief and terror. Scott decided to push everything away, blame it on Erik while Jean needed to embrace the pain in her desperate hope to deal with it, she blamed Charles. Their different cope mechanisms were another reason for them to fight. Jean needed silence, Scott preferred to speak, write about what happened. Jean felt the living needed justice, Scott felt the dead needed redemption, that was the final crack between them. His book became a best-seller and the final nail in the casket of their marriage. Jean took Marie with her across the States, Scott remained closer to Kurt and Ororo. Scott and Jean’s children were the only reason they didn’t fall into alcohol like Marie, in drugs like Kurt or in medication like Ororo, but that didn’t mean they were alright and they knew that.

Emma became a substitute to Jean and Warren became a substitute of Scott, not because there were strong feelings, but because there weren’t. These two had been out and away from the Hell the X-Men had lived and that had been enough. They both needed someone who couldn’t understand them, yet reassured them that everything would be alright, because they simply couldn’t understand what they were talking about. 

Jean felt two pairs of eyes watching her as she remained the only living inside the room with the two silver tables, only one was occupied. Touching her mind with their presence, her head snapped towards the doors of the morgue, it was slightly open and a shimmering eye was looking at her.

‘Shit,’ she whispered as she let down the pallet with the extra lasting foundation. She moved outside the morgue and closed the door behind her as she faced her two children. Rachel was seven, her telepathy already on because of the Incident, her left eye shimmering with a flicker of fire. Nathan was nine, the same deformity on his own eye, his hair had turned white that night because of the strain he went through, His telepathy igniting, unconsciously saving at least a dozen of students as he engulfed himself, Rachel and some other children in a cocoon of power during the seizure. Valiant and brave, they were true Summers, even if nourished and loved by the also kind and honest Worthington. ‘What have I said about the morgue?’ Jean asked sternly at her kids, they both looked down and then back at their mother.

‘Never to enter,’ Nathan replied honestly and Jean raised her brows in an obvious manner. She would swear there was a lone figure unmoving down the corridor’s turn to the stairs but she shook away the notion, her mind and its bloody tricks. Jean refocused as Nathan took her smartphone from his jacket’s pocket and gave it to his mother.

‘Warren’s busy on the phone of the office, it hasn’t stopped buzzing. We saw Dad’s number, and Aunt ‘Ro’s and Aunt Marie’s numbers, they’ve been calling.’ Nathan explained and Jean sighed and frowned as she checked the screen, seven unanswered calls, all in one day from them, and a call from a random number, for a moment she felt her powers tingling, it must had been Kurt from the rehab center.

‘Go back upstairs, ask Warren to micro dinner and fix Netflix for you, go, go, go, I’ll be there in a few minutes.’ Jean offered finally and kissed both her children on the head.

‘If you talk with Daddy, will you tell him to come early on Saturday?’ Rachel asked as Nathan was already moving towards the stairs, and the lonely figure standing at the end of it.

‘Of course, sweetie, now go back upstairs, please.’ Jean told her daughter before she could kiss her cheek. Rachel nodded and rushed behind her brother as Nathan was already turning in the corner.

Jean looked at the calls, unsure who to call. She finally chosen as she hit her finger against the touchscreen with more force than needed. Scott’s voice greeting her from the other end of the line made her stomach drop instead of warm at the sound of it.

 _‘Jean?’_ he asked, his voice hoarse.

‘Scott? What’s wrong?’ Jean asked as she touched the doorknob of the morgue chamber with her other hand, ready to re-enter the place and finish her job.

 _‘Jean…’_ Scott tried to speak and gulped down. _‘Uhm, I…. Erik called and it’s about ‘Ro,’_ Scott tried to explain as Jean opened the door. Inside the room with the two silver tables, Patricia wasn’t alone anymore. The woman in her coat was laying on the second table, sitting up and looking at Jean, dressed in 70’s fashion, her clothes destroyed on the waistline, her legs smashed,  her dark ginger hair blooded as half the scull was smashed, the right eye missing from its socket  in a mess of flesh and hair down to the cheekbone. Elaine Grey’s lips had been intact, however, even her lipstick was on as Jean’s mother smiled brightly at her daughter and extended her right crashed hand towards her only child. Jean remained speechless, her knees going weak as Scott’s voice was heard through the phone.

 _‘ Ro returned to the mansion… Jean... She…She killed herself._ ’ His voice was strained as Jean’s eyes remained on the image of her mother’s inviting, mauled form.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I hope you liked it, I'm not even sure how the first chapter was formed, I only hope I am not the only one seeing the characters of HoHH and X-Men so similar to each other.  
> Please comment?  
> Should I continue with this or put it in the ice?  
> Thanks for reading.


	2. Scott Sees A Ghost

 

_In case you actually care, Erik.  
Scott_

_‘Ro, this is for you as much it is for him, miss you._  
Scott  
  


_I know you won’t read it but still, love you baby sister._  
Scott  
  


_Hank, Raven, if you ever read it, know that I made this with respect for him._  
Scott  
  
Kurt, if you hold this, it means you’re clean and sober, and I’m so very proud of you.  
Your brother  
Scott  
  


_Please don’t be mad at me, I love you so much._  
Always Yours  
Scott  
  


Scott shut the front page of his book and put it inside the folder. The rest of the first editions were ready, he had decided to write something on the first page of them all. One for Erik, if he actually cared to read what happened to them that night at Westchester. One for each of his adoptive siblings. One for Ororo as he had promised to restore their adoptive father’s memory, to give her solace in the knowledge of Logan missing instead of being dead. One for Marie, even if she didn’t give a fuck about it all, or pretended not to, in the times she was sober. One for Raven and Hank, back at the Mansion, where they decided to stay after what happened, still scarred, still healing. One for Kurt, that one he’ll keep for the time Kurt resurfaces and is clean. And one for Jean, with his sincere apology inside, his sincere need for her. Jesus, how they ended up destroying their lives, how she turned on hating his gut. How he allowed her to let him go.

Scott sighed as he looked at the cover of his book, his fingers pressed against his lips, his eyes averting to his buzzing phone but he ignored it at the moment, he didn’t want to talk to anyone. The Westchester Incident was something they still remembered with every detail, even if it had been almost five years since what happened.

The Blackbird was touching down from a mission, him, Ororo, Marie, Kurt and Jean. When they reached the mansion, everything had descended into chaos. Several people dead, so many injured, Erik was trying to push everyone out and away, Logan was trying to save Charles who was within the Cerebro, the place no one had been allowed to enter, not after Alex’s death. Jean had been affected first, even in her struggle to reach for the children, Charles’ seizure had almost driven her mad. Breaking every power pocket within her mind, releasing the demons she had fought so hard to win when they were younger. Ororo had been left vulnerable at the sight of the dead and injured, Charles’ mind playing tricks inside their heads. Old and new casualties had returned in these agonizing moments. Kurt had taken in the devastation and then teleported away, leaving everyone behind, his faith and mind unable to accept what was happening inside his mind and around him. Marie had rushed inside the Cerebro, touching Charles, stopping him, and then falling into a coma that lasted days. When she woke up, she wasn’t only absorbing powers and life force, she was also absorbing moments, by touching things or people, things that happened to other people, or things that happened in their heads, the drinking problem started immediately after the development in her powers. That night Logan had taken Charles with Erik’s help and vanished, leaving behind dead and a horrendous sight of a school full of screaming, and cries for help. That night the Westchester Mansion resembled more a haunted house than a school, a result of months and months of crazy things happenings to all of them, things they had refused to accept or simply buried inside their minds and hearts.

They hadn’t realize Charles was getting sick rapidly, his mind reaching out and creating images and feelings, illusions and the mirages to everyone, driving them mad little by little. When he was finally out of the picture, what was left behind was death, madness and broken souls.

Erik had taken the survivors to Genosha, the team disbanded, the world turned to normal, and against them. It was the moment the government classified Jean’s mind as a weapon of mass destruction that she snapped and broke the team first, taking the kids and leaving, taking Marie with her who was trying self-rehabilitation for the first time back then. Ororo left soon after, unable to cope with the loss of the school, Remy, Logan, Charles and Kurt at the same time. That had left Scott without a team as they all left, unable to face each other, it also left him broken and alone, unable to fight for Jean and unable to fight for the children in the state of mind he was.

He was in a really dark place when Emma showed up, where he had been in pieces, she picked some of them up, glued them in her own liking and made him something that resembled who he used to be.

It was her idea for him to explain what happened at Westchester that night. Even if he was the only one not actually experiencing it all from the inside. He had been trained to stay stoic, take all the punches, let no one realize how much he bled inside. He buried the pain and resurfaced the anger, the hatred, for Erik and his knowledge of Charles losing it, yet allowing it for months prior to the Incident. For Logan leaving everyone behind, for the dead X-Men who didn’t send a distress call sooner. For the five of them who survived while others died and suffered. For himself, for letting all this happen, for not foreseeing it, for letting everything fall apart afterwards, for losing Jean to a better man and getting with a woman lesser than Jean.

The familiar thudding sound made him jerk on his feet and rush to the bedroom of his loft apartment. He opened it and gasped as he saw Kurt there, his blue skin was blackish in some places. His former teammate and close friend for decades looked like a ghost of himself, in more than one senses, he was.  

‘Scott, I thougt you’vd be avay… I…’ the man stammered, his eyes were clouded, tired, intoxicated.

‘Now you’re trying to steal from me, Kurt?’ Scott asked exasperated. Kurt shook his head fiercely.

‘No it’s, it’s not vat you think, Scott, I...’ Kurt tried but this wasn’t the first time happening. ‘I’m clean, I just-.’

‘What do you want, Kurt?’ Scott cut in and Kurt sighed and looked down.

‘I need some money, for good business I svear. It’s a problem with a friend and I-‘ he was stammering, shivering, Scott sighed. ‘Have you talked with ‘Ro?’ Kurt asked but Scott avoided the question and pointed at his nightstand.

‘Top drawer, take them, like two hundred bucks,’ Scott gave in, he knew what addiction meant, he knew what elevation felt like. ‘Don’t you dare say a word to Jean or Marie about this.’ He commanded with his old authority, it felt ridiculous now, before the junkie his close friend and family member had become.

‘I-I won’t, promise. Danke,’ he added and looked at Scott. ‘Have you talked to ‘Ro?’ he asked again, with such concern he almost seemed sober for a moment. Scott shook his head negatively. ‘OK, I’m out, say hi to Emma foa meh.’ He added before he could teleport away, leaving Scott in the semi lit room.

He turned around and returned to the main part of the loft apartment and gasped as he found Ororo before him, standing silent in the living room, looking at him unmoving, his throat felt dry at the sight of his adoptive sister.

‘Jesus, ‘Ro!’ Scott gasped as she remained standing. ‘Is it the ‘Ro and Kurt show’ tonight? You knew he’d be here?’ he asked as he moved away from the dark bedroom. She didn’t seem to be holding her keys, but of course it was her, the thunderstorm was raging outside. Thankfully Emma wouldn’t be home until later that night, she hated intruders, especially of the extended -and quite crazy- Xavier family. ‘Since the incident you two act so strange. You didn’t hear him asking for you?’ Scott was rambling as he noticed his phone ringing again, he glanced once more at his sober and soaked to the bone friend before he could grab the phone. He finally answered the call.

 _Missed Calls: 9_  
Incoming Call  
Erik  
  
Scott’s stomach was uneasy at the double intrusion of his house, as he turned his back at his sister, admittedly only to himself, he had been startled and he wasn’t easy to get scared. He took a sigh and decided not to say a word to his sister across the room, it was obvious this was one of those weird nights when the PTSD was affecting them all.

‘Scott?’ Erik’s voice was rough, strained, scared.

‘What’s wrong?’ Scott asked and for a moment his mind went straight to Jean and their children. ‘Are they ok?’ he asked without needing to explain who he meant.

‘Have you talked with ‘Ro?’ Erik answered by demanding with a broken voice and Scott frowned.

‘She’s right here, why? What’s up? Scott used the same voice back at his supposed enemy, mentor and father figure.

‘She….. Scott, she had been trying to reach all of you, she tried with me last. I picked it up, she was going back to the mansion….‘Ro’s…. Ororo is dead, Scott.’ Erik’s voice broke at the last words. It was clear from the background noise that he was rushing back to the USA from Genosha but Scott didn’t care about the static as he turned around to look at his sister. ‘She killed herself.’

Ororo was less than four inches away from him, looking up at him in sorrow, making him speechless at the proximity he didn’t expect. Her skin turned white and her eyes hollow as she opened her mouth unnaturally wide and a horrifying scream ripped out of it, making Scott back away in panic, stumbling on his desk and falling on the carpeted floor, he shut his eyes for a moment at the pain he inflicted on his back from the fall.

As he looked around him, he was left alone in the flat, only the lights flickering for a mere moment, while Erik was asking if he was still with him through the phone.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok a small parallel here with "Steve Sees a ghost", I wanted to set up some things about the following up to the first small chapter. I wanted to explain some things more coldly from a point of view that matches Scott's perspective as a character in the comics too.   
> I am continuing with this because I really like a darker turn into comics as I grow older, I like the super heroes part of each story but the X-Men have been famous about their humane aspects too and I want to highlight that in my stories. I hope you liked this chapter, please comment? writing this makes me a bit blue as I get inspired by two very sad stories (the HoHH and the Westchester Incident/Logan) so encouragement is needed here :) let me know what you think? thank you very much for reading.


	3. Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is the new chapter of this story, I think I have most of it outlined as a parallel universe with the HOHH, I hope you like it so far, it's a small chapter but I promise more is to come soon.

_Chapter 3 – Touch_

_It was dark as Rogue moved down the stairs to the ground floor. The mansion was silent and seemingly empty with the students and teachers in their dorms, it was cold and Rogue would swear someone was watching her from some dark corner. Her sleep had been restless, she didn’t want to wake Remy beside her so she had decided to go grab a glass of water from the kitchen, and mobilize her numb limbs in the process, she hated numbing nightmares._

_As she moved through the ground floor’s corridor, she realized the nursery’s door was open. She hoped it wasn’t some curious student who decided to go and check the Summers children. All kinds of weird stuff could happen when you have tens of mutant kids in one place. As Rogue checked inside, she found Jean, nursing little Rachel on the rocking armchair. Jean was looking at her baby girl suckling at her breast but her head snapped at the direction of the open door the moment she felt Rogue, she immediately relaxed._

_‘Sorry to interrupt,’ Rogue said quietly but Jean shook her head and smiled at her close friend. Jean had kept the room in darkness in hopes of not waking up Nathan who was asleep in his bed across Rachel’s crib, she had also hoped for her migraine to lessen with the lack of light._

_‘No it’s ok, I had blocked everything out, didn’t “see” you approaching.’ Jean whispered as Rogue moved inside the room, smiling at Nathan’s sleeping form before she could look back at his mother._

_‘Another headache?’ she asked quietly as Jean nodded, Rachel stopped nursing. Jean covered her breast and put her daughter on her shoulder, patting her back until the baby could burp._

_‘Migraine, actually,’ Jean whispered and Rogue sighed and nodded, the mansion was cold, she didn’t care what the rest said, the place was cold as if all the windows were open, yet the heating was on and functioning._

_‘You want me to take some of it away?’ Rogue offered but Jean smiled and shook her head. Every time Rogue touched Jean, she’d have migraines for days, nightmares of the Phoenix Force and seeing things around her that didn’t exist as Jean, like many telepaths, suffered from ocular migraines. Jean had started suffering from migraines ever since the Phoenix Force and they only got worse as the years passed._

_‘No, but thanks, it will pass.’ Jean promised. For a moment a shadow passed behind Rogue and stood at the threshold of the open door of the room. Jean shut her eyes, willing it to disappear, the baby finally burped and Jean opened her eyes, the door behind Rogue was closed. Jean frowned but stood up and approached the crib, setting the baby inside. Rogue was next to her the moment the first bang shook the door and startled them both. Jean and Rogue snapped their heads at the direction as the doorknob shook but the door remained closed._

_‘Jean?....’ Rogue gasped as more banging started, shaking the paintings on the walls. Both Rachel and Nathan remained calm no matter the commotion. Rogue approached Jean as they watched in terror the room shake and the banging continue._

_‘It’s not me, I swear!’ Jean spoke loudly, her children remained unphased, she screamed the moment Rogue did the same as one of the paintings crashed on the floor, the lamp hanging from the ceiling followed, smashing on the carpeted floor before them. Nathan remained in slumber while baby Rachel started dozing off._

_‘Stop it! With your powers, Jean, stop it!’ Rogue screamed but Jean was collapsing on her knees screaming, her hands clutching at her head as the migraine magnified. The banging became more erratic and Rogue could only take off the glove and grasp Jean’s bare shoulder, both women collapsed on the nursery’s floor as the banging stopped abruptly._

Marie slammed shut the door of her jeep as she approached the main house. Her gloved hands clenched in fists as she approached the place her sister lived. She took out her keys and opened the door, greeted by silence.

‘In the kitchen, Marie!’ Jean’s voice was heard, of course Jean would feel her immediately, or simply heard the car’s engine approaching. Marie had been away for days, her work as a child therapist and teacher for autistic children kept her busy. Renting her adoptive sister’s garden house to have a place to sleep had solved the housing problem that ascended after the Westchester Incident.

Moving in close to Jean had solved a lot of problems for them both, Rach and Nate had remained in touch with at least one family member after the move from Westchester and the divorce of their parents. Rogue had stood by Jean’s side, helping her with the children as after the Incident, and Scott’s book, despite Jean’s objection, Rogue had taken her respective money from the book’s success and took her PhD in phycology, focusing on becoming a child therapist and boy, her niece and nephew needed help after what they had been through.

_Erik was running with a child in his arms, screaming and blood was everywhere. Erik rushed to Rogue as she entered the mansion with the other four, Erik pushed the child into Rogue’s arms the moment Scott and Jean were running away to their children’s bedroom. Erik touched Rogue as he gave her the unconscious student in her arms._

_Charles and Erik had a fight, Erik had lost his temper, so had Charles, screaming to each other, metallic knick-knacks had flew around the place as Charles moved towards Cerebro, flashes of Charles pushed away from it on his wheelchair, pushed by its metallic parts, Charles hitting his head on the metal wall of the base’s corridor before he could telepathically attack Erik in a frenzy of fear and anguish._

_‘Don’t touch me!’ she screamed as she held the child to herself._

Rogue entered the kitchen and moved straight to the fridge, where she took out one of the sandwiches Jean and Warren always had prepared, the house was always full of good quality food because of the services and good sandwiches because Jean wanted small meals for everyone while they worked irregular hours. Only when she turned around she saw Jean clad in black, a color she’d never wear if she wasn’t working, and she knew her adoptive sister didn’t have a service until Monday. The look on Jean’s face told Marie something was very wrong. Warren entered the kitchen and smiled sadly at Rogue as he approached Jean and rubbed her back soothingly.

‘What’s wrong?’ Rogue decided to take up the courage and ask, she knew she’d hate the answer. Jean’s eyes were bloodshot, she sniffed and shook her head, her coffee had ran cold in her cup. She remained stiff and unmoving as if Warren wasn’t touching her. ‘Jean?’ Rogue dared to urge her adoptive sister, Jean wiped away more tears. ‘One of the kids? Scott?...’ Rogue whispered and Jean finally spoke, reacting at the mention of her close people.

‘Scott, Scott called.’ Jean started, Warren remained stoic at the mention of Jean’s ex-husband. ‘Erik called him… Ororo…. ‘Ro killed herself, she hanged herself at the mansion’s main staircase. Raven and Hank called immediately after they found her.’ Jean finally said, Rogue left the sandwich as she remained to look at the woman before her. ‘Kurt abandoned the rehabilitation center, showed up at Scott’s apartment, then left. Scott is trying to find him and bring him for the funeral. Erik is on his way, I asked ‘Ro’s body to be brought here, I will take care of the funeral and the body.’ Jean went on monotonous but Rogue was still stuck at the first piece of information. The last time she had seen Ororo was at her apartment, where they had a fight over Logan and Charles and all the shit they had been through, now Rogue was realizing the last words she had ever spoken to her other adoptive sister were words of anger and disapproval, Ororo was gone.

‘I…’ Rogue stammered, looking at Warren, hoping of him to rebut Jean’s words but Warren only looked at Rogue in that sad, understanding look people outside the Xavier family looked at the remaining members of it. She was sick of that look on people’s faces. ‘I need a drink,’ Rogue finally announced and Jean sighed and rubbed her forehead.

‘It’s eleven in the morning,’ Jean stated disapprovingly, Rogue nodded her head.

‘And I need a drink,’ she repeated as she reached the bottom cupboard, where the liquor was stored. 

_Ororo was standing at the balcony of the main wing of the mansion, her eyes turned white, the wind billowing around her. Rogue moved closer to her, their hair dancing around them._

_‘You’re alright?’ Rogue asked and Storm nodded her head, her eyes still white and unfocused._

_‘I’m scared,’ Storm whispered and Rogue nodded her own head._

_‘I know, I am scared too.’ She whispered and Storm extended her arms to her shoulders’ height, a thunder was heard in the distance, she was venting._

_‘The house is alive, we don’t want to accept it, but it is,’ Storm said out loud and Rogue sighed and shook her head, there had to be a logical explanation._

_The house was a mess, a miserable apartment, with a more miserable Ororo living in it. ‘Stop acting like a widow, Logan’s alive, out there.’ Marie demanded but Ororo shook her head, tears running down her cheeks._

_‘He’s as good as dead, if he’s still alive he’s probably gone mad by now, because of Charles.’ Ororo was rasping through the tears. Rogue sighed and shook her head._

_‘You don’t know that,’ Rogue whispered angrily, knowing Ororo had a point, houses don’t go mad, people do._

_‘But you do,’ Ororo whispered and tried to rip off Rogue’s glove from her hand, as she caught her off guard, she succeeded and touched her sister’s hand briefly before Marie could pull her hands away furiously, scared she’d see images she wouldn’t be able to take out of her head._

_‘For fucks sake, Storm!’ she screamed angrily as Ororo collapsed on the floor. Invading her powers, her mind, Rogue knew Ororo would attempt the same with Jean if her powers were spontaneous. Rogue felt violated, a violation that could be matched only by the events that unfolded in the night of the Incident. ‘You’re pathetic!’ Rogue screamed angrily and Ororo only started crying, desperate for answers. ‘This is how you want to treat your remaining family? This is why you went to Scott and embarrassed him before other people? This is why you bought crack for Kurt?’ Rogue attacked her adoptive sister with the things she had told her over the phone, when Rogue had finally answered the umpteenth call from Storm._

_‘You came because Jean sent you,’ Ororo pointed out, Rogue shook her head._

_‘I came because I wanted to spend some time with you,’ Rogue retorted angrily. ‘Kurt is in rehab, Scott has cheapEmma and Jean has Warren,’ Rogue spoke more calmly. ‘So I thought of coming to see you as we’re the only ones without a crutch…’ Rogue added in a softer tone but moved towards the couch to pick up her jacket on top of the rest of the abandoned clothes. ‘You used to be among the strongest of us. And I am finding you in this rathole of a house, rotting away, not taking your meds-‘_

_‘I take them,’ Ororo insisted, interrupting Rogue and making her furious._

_‘Don’t’ lie to me, damn it!’ Rogue this time bellowed. ‘If you did you’d knew better and keep the shit you did to yourself, I know you ‘Ro.’ Rogue’s voice broke. ‘You bought drugs for Kurt…’ she whispered in disbelief._

_‘He needed relief.’ Ororo whispered desperately._

_‘He needs to put his shit together,’ Rogue stated coldly. ‘Just like you do,’ she added angrily before she could leave the flat, shutting the door behind her._

‘Jean, let me call Christine, she can take care of Ororo’s body…’ Warren’s voice snapped Rogue out of her memories of the last time she spoke to Storm. Jean was shaking her head, annoyed this subject was being reopened.

‘I will fix my sister,’ Jean insisted and Warren sighed and bowed before his girlfriend.

‘This is too much for anyone…’ Warren tried to reason with her but Jean shook her head.

‘I’m doing it, Warren.’ Jean insisted stubbornly. She had been a doctor, she had been good at her job and now as a mortician, she was also good. She didn’t have the chance to fix her dead teammates, as a doctor or as a mortician. They had died without a chance at medical help and they had been horrendously embalmed in their funerals. Jean had realized this was the main reason she never overcame the seven dead family members.

And she would never fix Charles because Logan had taken him away, to die as a ran away, as a criminal, as a weapon of mass destruction. ‘I can fix my sister,’ she said coldly before she could stand up and leave the room, Warren was ready to follow her but Rogue stopped him with a shaky, gloved hand.

‘Let her be, she will do it,’ Marie tried weakly. ‘It’s the only way for her to cope with it,’ through control,’ Marie added and Warren finally sighed and nodded his head as Marie took a deep breath and release her hold onto him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK I wanted a Jean-Rogue chapter (similar to the Shirley-Theo scenes and the Theo/Nelly scene from Nelly's flat) and I wanted to explore Rogue more as I love the parallel with Theo so much!  
> thank you for reading, all the unexplained little things will eventually be explored so please stay tuned and tell me what you think? feedback keeps me going! thank you!


	4. Open Casket

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is the new chapter, a bit more exploration of what happened in the past, plus some recent issues among the characters. I hope you like it :)

Chapter 4 – Open Casket

_The mansion was in total disarray, everyone was screaming, kneeling or crawling, mind blowing pain inside the their heads as the Seizure affected them. Jean and Scott were running in the corridor of the mansion, abandoning everyone for their children. The moment the couple reached the threshold they found Kitty -who was supposed to babysit while they were away at the mission- dead on the floor, her eyes unfocused, blood running down her lips and nose.  Before her, Apocalypse was standing between the two cribs, his massive dark hands wrapped around the necks of Nathan and baby Rachel, his fists clutched strongly, crushing their necks and Jean and Scott’s hearts as they screamed and attacked._

_‘All is revealed,’_

Jean shot up in the dark bedroom and took a deep shaky breath as she put her hand around her neck, trying to regulate the intake through her nose, her lungs screaming for air, hot tears ran down her cheeks. It wasn’t the nightmare that had woken her, usually they kept her pinned on the bed, allowed her to wake only when she saw Scott dead too. Her phone was ringing as the first light of dawn was illuminating the sky outside. She reached for it as Warren woke up next to her and tried to help her with a hand on her back and a bottle of water he always had on his nightstand for her.

‘Kurt?’ she knew it was him.

‘Jean? I need help,’ Kurt tried to sound calm but Jean could hear his shaky voice, he was probably in withdrawal. ‘I’m cold and I need help,’ he added and Jean nodded.

‘Tell me where you are and I will send Scott right away, he’s been searching for you. We need you to come to us.’ She tried to sound calmed, her powers reaching for her children’s bedroom in her desperate need to make sure it was just a nightmare, she had killed Apocalypse in her twenties, he was gone yet he always returned for her children and husband.

Warren, Jean and Rogue remained silent as the van reached the funeral house. The moment the doors opened and the stretcher came out with the bag on, Rogue shook her head.

‘Sorry I can’t do that.’ Rogue whispered and moved away, not glancing a second time at the stretcher as she reached for her house, Jean had sent Nathan and Rachel there, away from the home as they were too curious for their own good. Jean sighed and followed the service man taking the stretcher downstairs, Warren stopped her for a moment.

‘Anything you need, I am here,’ he offered as Jean looked up at him, he was about the same height with Scott, same broad shoulders, his suits always made him look even more robust as they concealed his massive wings. Jean nodded as he pulled her in his arms. ‘I’m here,’ he whispered again and Jean shut her eyes and took a breath she needed so much, she wished she could rely on the proximity of a man who stood by her side without asking a lot.

‘Thank you,’ she could only whisper back.

 She entered the morgue and moved close to the bag on the table. All her tools were laid out on the tables around her. Her long fingers touched the zipper and she took a deep breath as she opened the bag and glanced down.

Ororo’s skin was deathly white, her lips bluish, the black circles under eyes made the sockets prominent. The stitches around the neck made an “Y” down between her breasts. The post mortem stage had began and Jean would need to relocate the neck, fix the skin around it and paint her sister. Like she had down in the past with make up for her.

_‘How do I look?’ Ororo asked as Jean finished the eyeliner of the bride and smiled at her adoptive sister._

_‘You look beautiful,’ Jean whispered truthfully. Ororo’s gown was simple, her hair up in a bun, her smile radiant on her face._

_‘Thank you,’ Ororo smiled at the heavily pregnant Jean who smiled back and hugged her best friend tightly, her belly pushing against her. Ororo chuckled and brushed her hand on Jean’s belly._

_‘Your niece is excited,’ Jean laughed as she felt the baby kicking from inside. She was dressed in a dark magenta as she was to be the maid of Honor._

_Nathan was moving before the bride, throwing petals, making everyone smile and encourage him to reach the groom and the best man, Nathan’s father as Logan and Scott waited at the end of the aisle._

_‘Nervous much?’ Scott asked teasingly and Logan laughed, dressed in a suit with his hair taken care of, he looked like a different man from the feral mutant everyone was used to._

_‘Oh yes, he admitted as Scott scooped Nathan in his arms the moment everyone stood and Ororo showed up at the other end of the aisle with Charles by her side on his wheelchair, ready to give away his second daughter to a happy marriage. Scott and Jean glanced at each other with smiles on their faces as they watched Ororo receive a kiss from Charles before she could reach Logan and he, awestruck at her sight, took her hand and turned to Kurt who had been appointed as their priest._

_The party was full of laughter and joy as the couples danced and laughed. Scott was dancing with Jean, Hank was with Raven while the Remy rocked with Rogue at the tempo of the music, yet the show was stolen from the bride and groom, all happy and smiling at each other while Charles and Erik watched with smiles on their faces. The two had decided to give up on the hatred and the rivalry, after resetting the timeline, they had decided to give their lives a chance and accept they were always more than good friends, they were partners. And the rest had accepted it, because they knew that Erik was a good person deep down, and Charles deserved happiness, if he found it only close to Erik, everyone was fine with their mentor’s choice, especially if it meant peace for all of them._

Jean looked down at the corpse of her sister. She was done, it had been hours but she was done and Ororo looked beautiful, just like in the picture of her wedding which Jean had taken and looked at. She remained standing above her dearest friend for a moment more before she could feel the tears run down her cheeks, she sobbed and wailed as she crouched above the corpse, touching her forehead at Ororo’s joined hands on her stomach. She hadn’t picked up the phone when Ororo had called, she was always busy, her children complained about it, Warren was worried and in all her workaholism, she lost one of her remaining family members right through her fingers.

They had become a family and even if they weren’t blood related, they considered themselves siblings, especially after the tragedy that struck them five years ago. Jean wondered if there had been a small moment in time where she could have seen the signs, could have prevented their faith. There were no ghosts and no boogie men, it had been Charles from the beginning, years prior to the Incident, he had been losing control and toyed with their minds unconsciously. He had suffered from memory loss, insomnia, migraines, projection of his telepathy and they had suffered along, half of them had thought they were going crazy, the rest had understood something was wrong with their mentor, but it had been too late when they realized how far things had stretched.

She tried to compose herself as she heard a car pulling over outside and decided to move out of the morgue, she knew the situation would be awkward. As she moved down the corridor and towards the stairs, she’d swear she felt someone behind her but after the past couple of days she didn’t want to turn around and look, too scared her mother or the image of her dead people would plague her even while she was awake.

She moved up the stairs to the ground floor the moment Warren was opening the door and Scott was revealed in his own suit, next to Kurt who was struggling to remain calm. He glanced at Jean before he could look down at the floor while Scott stared down at Warren -even if only Jean could feel the way Scott looked at her boyfriend- who made space for the two men to enter the place.

‘Welcome,’ Warren said, ever the gentleman as he looked at Jean who approached, still in her medical clothes, her eyes tired and swollen from the tears. Scott turned towards her and their gazes locked for a long moment that was interrupted by the screaming children that descended from the stairs of the first floor and ran towards their father who knelt down and received them both in a tight hug. Rogue had brought them back and left for awhile while Jean was working downstairs, as agreed.

‘I missed you, guys!’ Scott exclaimed as he kissed their little heads repeatedly before he could scoop both in his arms while both Rachel and Nathan held onto their father with their arms wrapped around his shoulders and neck. Jean looked at the trio that once embodied her closest family and couldn’t help but wonder when exactly did they lose each other. Was it in that night of the final nightmare? Or when she realized she was capable of killing him even without realizing it, just like Charles had done. Was it when he let go, too lost in his own grief and pain while she suffocated and contemplated leaving forever for Genosha? Or when she gathered her stuff, took their children and he didn’t have the strength to fight for them while she abandoned the notion of their family.

‘Hey,’ she finally whispered and Scott nodded at her.

‘Jean,’ he acknowledged the love of his life, his heart racing at her very sight after so many months. He felt as if the room contained only him, her and their babies, alone in the world, protected by the bond that blossomed on its own, he could taste her essence, her kindness and her nightmarish days, her familiar mind and her darkening heart, he felt home.

‘How’s Emma?’ she decided to rebuke his intrusion through the bond, she couldn’t keep him so close inside her mind, not after what she had been through. Scott was too much too soon ever since they divorced as she had never overcome their split. She needed him at a distance from her thudding heart and frail mind.

‘She’s good, sending her condolences.’ He lied easily around the rest, Jean only nodded her head, she didn’t care about the blond telepath and Emma didn’t care about the situation, that was simple as that, Jean wanted to play the indifferent game and he was also good at it.

‘Give her my thanks, please,’ Jean added, in a way trying to get the final word on the small exchange. Now she remembered how little by little, they turned at each other, trying to wound the closest person to your heart kept you oddly away of reality, and the couple had grew quite good at doing so.  ‘Sweethearts, I need you to go with Warren and uncle Kurt in the kitchen and grab some breakfast.’ Jean offered and her children, even reluctantly, obeyed their mother and Warren smiled and extended both his hands for the children to take. Kurt hugged Jean without a word and the redhead telepath could see above her adoptive brother’s shoulder Scott sending a venomous look -even with his glasses on- at Warren’s retreating back as he left with his son and daughter.

‘I missed you, Kurt,’ Jean whispered as they broke their hug and she looked at his tired face, his hands were cold.

‘She’s, she’s downstairs?’ he asked quietly and Jean nodded.

‘Go get some food, Rogue will be around soon.’ Jean offered unhelping, he nodded and followed Warren with his hands under his armpits, leaving Scott and Jean alone to look at each other. 

‘How are you?’ Scott asked, his voice finally softening as he remained a couple of feet away from his ex-wife. Jean shook her head, softening as well, the walls were crumbling down around her at his sight.

‘Exhausted,’ she admitted and sighed as she looked at him, there was a time when she couldn’t possibly imagine her life without him, and she had been right, she had stopped living ever since their divorce, she was barely existing, for the kids and the clenched fist with hair that Rogue had turned into. ‘Full of nightmares, during my sleep and while I’m awake.’ She added shakily and Scott made a step closer to her as she made a step back, too afraid of what the physical contact between them would ignite. She felt the wave of disappointment crushing him at her hesitation. ‘How are you?’ she asked, desperate to show him she cared even if she had moved away instinctively. He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck.

‘I’ve seen better days,’ he confessed and Jean nodded in understanding. ‘I missed you,’ he added and Jean sighed, this conversation had taken place many times, always starting like that.

‘I know,’ she rushed to say. ‘But we made our choices.’ She added more harshly than she intended.

‘ _You_ made the choice to leave,’ he couldn’t stop himself from accusing her, she would feel it anyway, their bond widening with every passing minute around each other, stretching itself to its original size while they were around each other. There was horror inside his heart, horror he hadn’t felt in years, something had happened but Jean didn’t have the time to explore the incident as she felt her anger rising up inside her like fire.

‘And you made the choice not to fight.’ Jean retorted angrily, for a moment glancing at the kitchen, making sure their children didn’t listen to them. ‘You fought for your team, you fought monstrous enemies, but you didn’t fight for us.’ Jean accused him openly, she wasn’t sure why this was erupting now between them, she only knew she needed to tell things to people before they could die on her and she’s left with their carcasses to fix. Scott frowned at her.

‘As if I had a chance,’ he replied curtly, they had turned cold and unyielding at the final days of their marriage, just like the atmosphere in the mansion before the Incident. She had almost killed him and he had only tried to shove the problem away as to keep her close, ultimately driving her away.

‘You know, Scott,’ Jean this time whispered as she felt the tears filling her eyes. ‘The saddest thing is, you actually might had one,’ she confessed this time, leaving him speechless at the revelation. She had waited for him, she had hoped for him to fight for her, to try and take her back, like he always did, like he had done with the Phoenix Force, like he did for everyone. But he hadn’t, she had played and she had lost to a woman easier than her as Emma had picked him up, mended his broken heart and took it for her own, while she had been left in her living nightmares, until Warren showed up and she found a glimpse of normalcy, of joy around him, along a respectful father figure for her children which she had taken away from their own dad. ‘But you didn’t even realize it, did you?’ she finally asked as this time Scott moved in the remaining distance and stood right before her, his warm body against hers as he held her arms with his hands, afraid she’d back away again.

‘You were begging to go away, Jean, as to save me, as to find some peace of mind, what was I supposed to do? Like always, I respected your wishes even if it cost me my closest family, you and our children,’ he tried to reason with her. Even if he knew her so well, he wasn’t sure what she was saying, was that an opening for their reconciliation? Or it was the grief talking once again.

‘You’re right,’ Jean finally admitted, he had indeed respected her wish to leave, to save both from her erratic powers. ‘But you didn’t respect my wish for the book not to be published, for our torture not to be in the bookshelves around the world,’ Jean this time attacked him again and Scott sighed and let go of her.

‘Oh please, not again,’ he begged with her but she shook her head, smiling bitterly.

‘Of course not, it’s not like it’s important that you wrote that book with the blood of our family for ink,’ Jean’s words were laced with anger and pain. Scott sighed and moved away, this time it was him who backed away.

‘I wanted to restore Charles’ name,’ Scott defended his choice and Jean snorted.

‘Oh I am sure, this is why Emma was so eager for the cash.’ Jean retorted and Scott sighed.

‘Cash that I equally divided for all of you, especially you for the children’s needs.’ Scott replied back in anger and Jean shook her head.

‘We became the reality show Charles never wanted us to be because of that bloody book!’ Jean couldn’t help but shout.

‘People grew to hate him but the book helped some at least to understand what happened and not be afraid of their super heroes.’ Scott shouted back and Jean laughed bitterly.

‘Super Heroes that died because of him, Scott! We got destroyed because of Charles and the Incident was just the final act of the drama!’ Jean shouted louder and shut the door leading to the kitchen, positive they were being heard, she could feel the distress coming from the room. ‘You keep defending him when you know it was him who drove us crazy and apart.’ This time her voice was lower but broken as she looked down at the floor before her feet. She felt exhausted.

‘He was the one who put us together and made us a family in the first place, he deserved setting his name straight.’ Scott’s voice was as low and broken from across the room.

Rogue’s incoherent screaming interrupted their fight, heard from downstairs. Jean’s eyes widened as she stretched her mind towards the lower levels and encountered Rogue’s mind in the morgue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok for the jott fans, yep here they are, dysfunctional as ever, their issues remind Morrison's new x-men but I hope they will find a way throughout the story here. I hope you liked it, more will be revealed soon I promise :) Little by little -as hpped and promised- we're opening away from the HoHH main plot and similarities. thank you for reading, comments and kudos are great support


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